{"id":5773,"date":"2014-10-17T12:51:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T12:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=5773"},"modified":"2017-11-16T11:33:43","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T11:33:43","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-nervensage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-nervensage\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: Nervens\u00e4ge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to another post on untranslatable German words! I can\u2019t believe how many words we\u2019ve covered already \u2013 Torschlu\u00dfpanik<\/a>, Geisterfahrer<\/a>, Gem\u00fctlichkeit<\/a>, Waldeinsamkeit<\/a>, Putzfimmel<\/a>, Schattenparker<\/a>\u2026 to name just a few! It may not have a reputation as being romantic or sexy, but if you\u2019re a language lover then you\u2019ll quickly realise what an interesting, quirky language German really is. So on that note, let\u2019s continue with another untranslatable German word!<\/p>\n

Can you think of someone who really irritates you? That person is known in German as a Nervens\u00e4ge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does Nervens\u00e4ge mean?
\n<\/strong>A Nervens\u00e4ge is a really annoying, irritating person.<\/p>\n

What does Nervens\u00e4ge literally translate to?
\n<\/strong>Broken down, it means \u2018nerve saw\u2019. Nerven = nerves, and S\u00e4ge = saw. Imagine a saw cutting at your nerves\u2026 isn\u2019t that what it feels like when somebody annoys the hell out of you? It\u2019s quite an appropriate word!<\/p>\n

How would you use it in a sentence?
\n<\/strong>Quite simply, \u201cEr ist so eine Nervens\u00e4ge!\u201c \u2013 \u201eHe is such a Nervens\u00e4ge!\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the nearest English equivalent?
\n<\/strong>There are words to describe irritating people, but they are mostly adjectives. For example: annoying, irritating, bothersome. You could use the noun \u2018pest\u2019 to describe a Nervens\u00e4ge, for example: \u201cHe is such a pest!\u201d However, there\u2019s no word that describes a person who makes you feel like your nerves are being cut with a saw. In terms of creativity, the word Nervens\u00e4ge is in a league of its own!<\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a>

Du gehst mir auf den Keks! Photo by carbonnyc on Flickr.com under CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

Interestingly, the English phrase \u201cYou get on my nerves\u201d translates the same in German: \u201cDu gehst mir auf die Nerven\u201d (literally, \u201cYou go me on the nerves\u201d).<\/p>\n

There is, however, a cute little phrase that means the same thing but has a rather strange literal translation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDu gehst mir auf den Keks\u201d
\n<\/strong>\u201eYou go me on the biscuit\u201d or \u201cYou get on my biscuit\u201d, in other words!<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not all! Here are some other quirky ways that Germans express their annoyance with someone:<\/p>\n

Du gehst mir auf den Senkel<\/strong> \u2013 You\u2019re getting on my shoelaces<\/p>\n

Du gehst mir auf den Wecker<\/strong> \u2013 You\u2019re getting on my alarm clock<\/p>\n

Du bringst mich auf die Palme<\/strong> \u2013 You\u2019re going to force me up a palm tree (Difficult to translate, but it basically means \u2018you\u2019re testing my patience\u2019)<\/p>\n

One of my favourite ways to express irritation with someone in English is to say, \u201cYou\u2019re doing my head in!\u201d Germans say, \u201cDu machst mich kaputt!\u201d \u2013 <\/strong>\u201eYou are breaking me!\u201c, which has the same sort of meaning.<\/p>\n

Do you know any other translations? Or better still, can you come up with your own German phrase for \u201cyou\u2019re getting on my nerves\u201d?<\/p>\n

Bis bald,<\/em><\/p>\n

Constanze x<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Hello and welcome to another post on untranslatable German words! I can\u2019t believe how many words we\u2019ve covered already \u2013 Torschlu\u00dfpanik, Geisterfahrer, Gem\u00fctlichkeit, Waldeinsamkeit, Putzfimmel, Schattenparker\u2026 to name just a few! It may not have a reputation as being romantic or sexy, but if you\u2019re a language lover then you\u2019ll quickly realise what an interesting…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":7505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[376023,337679],"class_list":["post-5773","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-language","tag-untranslatable-german"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t